Saturday, August 2, 2008

Heavy fighting erupted yesterday between the Army's 57 Division and the LTTE's Charles Anthony, Imran Pandian and Intelligence Wing cadres south of Mallavi. Fighting erupted as the LTTE's cream made a counter-attack on regular troops of the Army after the 57 Division captured an area of around 900m2 in one day.

The army lost 20 men, five went missing, the bodies of three of whom were captured by the tigers. The LTTE went away with at least 20 dead in its own ranks and 30 wounded, all from the three 'elite' units. LTTE leader Banu was heard advising his troops to make maximum effort to capture at least a few SLA bodies.

The Tigers managed this goal by ambushing Army casualties. As the fighting raged on, the Army dispatched a jeep to bring back the injured. A tiger ambush team fired an RPG at the Jeep, thus killing 3 soldiers, including the driver and two casualties being rushed to hospital.

A few days ago, a SLA LRRP team was detected in the area just south of Kilinochchi at Kokavil by a group of LTTE civilian force members who called in reinforcements. The team of six special Forces fought valiantly losing two men in the process. Finally, a chopper full of Special Forces was brought in, who decimated the LTTE attack and rescued 4 men and one body. The other body was captured by the Tigers.

Last Wednesday, three Special Forces teams lay in ambush along the Vellankulam-Mallavi road waiting for a group of Charles Anthony cadres to arrive. The first team ambushed a team of Charles Anthony unit cadres as they came along the road. The Tigers rushed in a second team of Charles Anthony, which was also ambushed by the 2nd SF team. In desperation, Tigers sent in a 3rd team, which to their horror was ambushed by the 3rd team lying in waiting. Altogether a total of 24 Charles Anthony unit cadres were killed in the attack.

In the meantime, the Army's 58 Division (Task Force-1) captured the strategic village of Vellankulam. The SLA's next direction of operations remains to be seen.

180 comments:

DW I think your report is inaccurate on this one: "A tiger ambush team fired an RPG at the Jeep, thus killing 3 soldiers, including the driver and two casualties being rushed to hospital."

Photos in TN show the jeep from 3 angles without a scratch in its paint, the drivers side just fine and windshield intact.The tyre is deflated in front drivers side though--which seem a better explanation?

Please take a moment show the gratitude to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for the defence and integrity of our motherland. Contribute to the Ranaviru fund of your choice and put your wallet where your heart is. Without their sacrifices, our homeland could have been infested with LTTE terrorists. It is never too late to do it. Send some money today, send some money now to Ranaviru funds.

Bless the souls of brave men and women who gave the lives for our homeland!!

There is a running joke that LTTE cadres are called pigs. Thats why I mentioned that the contents of the green bag was feed for these pigs. If you are indeed not a Tamil or a LTTE supporter, all I can say to you is that you may understand the military situation but not the sentiments of this war of liberation.

I am yest to see the jeep's front and left sides. This is the most likely area where the attack came from. The purpose of firing an RPG would be to stop the vehicle in its tracks. It will of course be preceded by gunfire. The canvass canopy of the land cruiser is blown off. When an RPG is fired, (often these are fragmentation warheads)there are small dents which you can see if you get close to the side of impact. If its HEAT, then there are burn marks, and for a small vehicle like that, the damage would become visible. But a fragmentation warhead's damages are not visible, specially from these pictures.

Kuttu, welcome back, we missed you. Enjoy the sunshine, but don't stay out in the sun too long, you might get darker than you already are. Did you pay attention during math lessons? Sinhala/Muslim population outnumber you 5:1, so how can you use harvesting techniques? PS, this isn't a football match, no one is keeping score except you and your necrophiliac hordes, its macabre to count the dead mate. Who is going to rule Eelam? You and your barbarian tribes? Did you ever stop to think how a country could be ruled by philandering dimwitted huns?

Defence.lk said 32 Charles Anthony killed at Vavunikulam, We said over 100. Defence.lk corrected it next time. So these things happen. It depends on how quick and accurate your sources are. By the way, we have consistently been accurate and unbiased in our release of figures, from Anuradhapura attack to now. There is nothing to hide. Nothing can be hidden forever!

"LTTE leader Banu was heard advising his troops to make maximum effort to capture at least a few SLA bodies."--------------

DW thanks for the updates, quick question; someone had posted here or maybe on the other defence blog that Banu had been replaced by Theepan as manar commander after the debacle at Vavunikulam, is there any truth to this.

"The Tigers managed this goal by ambushing Army casualties. As the fighting raged on, the Army dispatched a jeep to bring back the injured. A tiger ambush team fired an RPG at the Jeep, thus killing 3 soldiers, including the driver and two casualties being rushed to hospital."

Oh DW this too, how did this occur was this casualty evac from in front of the SLA lines or did LTTE get behind the SLA lines?

As I have said Mallavi is the focus point of LTTE, where they were waiting for SLA attack.

the LTTE offensive is now over, and they could not guard their flank of mallavi.

LTTE is BOXed in, this would be their meat grinder.

LTTE has moved heavy arty north of mankulam and south of the poonaryn-kili road targeting malavi. they plan to also use it as a meat grinder against SLA.

LTTE is now putting the best of troops to keep malavi while moving troops south of mulativu-which has failed numerous times.

the other objective is to keep SLA busy so new recruits could be inducted to the battle zone.

LTTE troops movements are very obvious. they hold about 600 south of A32 nochchikuda with heavy ary (120s) also

LTTE wants to bruise SLA before they come to Mankulum junction which was a death trap for SLA and as well indian army...it should not be taken without moving broader font as it a focus where it could be attacked from the south west (task force 2).

need to capture those choke points with fire power and keep enough reserves (at least 15,000 ready to reinforce if needed) because LTTE is not done yet!

remember prabhakaran is not good against mobile targets, but good against static targets

keep the troops in offensive mode until all LTTE bases are destroyed and population base is denied, then let the death squad lose the take out the sympathizer's who can start guerrilla attacks.

If all Tamils are like you they would have won this war long time a go…U have a story for everything when u lose u have one Samanpoor liberated 2 years ago..…when u win u have one …u must be in western country…u r funny man…This time war will end with killing all maggots not like last time...then again another time …so u all can go to hell and enjoy …may be Tamil Nadu if u like…LTTE is created by Sinhalese to reduce Tamil Population in SL…u are one of them preaching from outside SL…go ahead…that’t what we need cheer up Tamil Di-asspora send more money u earn from ur sakkili job in west.

Photos in TN show the jeep from 3 angles without a scratch in its paint, the drivers side just fine and windshield intact.The tyre is deflated in front drivers side though--which seem a better explanation?]

Yes.Good thinking and don't understand how they moved the vehicle upto their camp since tyre is punctured. If it's ambushed while carrying casualties back,that means ambush site should be located behind the frontline in the army area.And in that case they have to move the vehicle longway back crossing the frontline along the main road which is impossible.

These Kuttu/Shyam/Thiru characters are fed such a diet of rhetoric and propoganda at these Ponna Thamiz celebrations that they have their head up their arse and cannot see the wood for the trees. One little attack on our forces and they start ejaculating. Dudes, its time to wake up and smell the napalm. It's only a matter of time.

Also some pig said here that Gotha was a petrol pump attendant in America before he became the Defence Secretary. What he forgot to mention was that he was Major in the army before he went to America. He was involved in the Vadamarchchi operations and would have kicked your asses once and for all had your sugar daddies not come to the rescue. Here is a picture of Gotha with Denzil:

The last part of this article made my day. The readiness to ambush re-inforcements and fall back options shows a level of preparedness on the part of battle planners that's truly amazing. I am assuming that the ambush parties weren't there by accident, like out for a piss in the jungle, when all these funa and games started.

Anyhow, this type of strike is the stuff of legend. I envy the kids who are pulling these stunts already. They'll have stories to tell their kids and grand kids someday.

Colonel Soosai, the leader of Sea Tigers, who is known among Walkie-talkies as Sara Osca, still cuts a formidable figure among his young subordinates. Those who have a fierce loyalty to Soosai may even compare him with the legendary Obelix - and in extreme cases, even pushing the latter into the second place in ranking. Obelix, who used to eat a fully-grown wild boar for breakfast, lunch and dinner, did amazing things, in order to dispose of his excess energy; some of which did include dare-devil acts in the sea.My guess is Soosai would be an Admiral; then he will be a very Rare Admiral indeed, for tens of reasons.My guess is Soosai would be an Admiral; then he will be a very Rare Admiral indeed, for tens of reasons.

Colonel Soosai used to head a navy that once was the Peril of the Indian Ocean. He had speed boats and teenage suicide bombers to man them at his disposal. Once a target was chosen, all Colonel Soosai had to do was just give a command to a suicide boat to get on with their job - from his commanding vessel.

He used to blow up Navy vessels up until recently at a time of his choosing. Eventually, he became so ambitious and even tried his skill on a passenger vessel - the very stunt earned him a permanent slot in Interpol’s most wanted list.

Despite the successes, Colonel Soosai experienced misfortunes too: he lost his wife to tsunami; his younger son died in what Colonel Soosai loves to call, an accident – a dreadful explosion. Colonel Soosai got injured too in the explosion, but later recovered, when everyone had been thinking that his wounds were life-threatening.

It is reported that Colonel Soosai has got a bullet embedded in his flesh that causes him a lot of pain. He went to Singapore for treatment on a Sri Lankan passport when the previous ceasefire was in place, but to no avail. Those who caught a glimpse of him at the Katunayake Airport were of the view that he was a shy individual, when he was not in military fatigue.

Colonel Soosai is a Tamil Tigers’ equivalent of an amphibian: his military title is Colonel – related to army – yet he heads the organization’s naval wing.

Colonel Soosai will not rate the latter half of year 2008 as the best period of his naval career, though. He has not only lost the control of the entire west coast, but also a significant number of boats to air strikes. In addition, he has got into the habit of burning his boats en masse, before them being landed in the wrong hands. This is in direct contrast to what the legendary marauding sea warriors, the Vikings, used to do upon conquering foreign lands; in the case of Vikings, it is a form of a trigger to shore up enthusiasm among warriors and signal that there was no-way back. In short, Colonel Soosai and his men did not want to stand shoulder to shoulder to with the Vikings, at least on this occasion.

Despite all the setbacks, Colonel Soosai is still capable of putting on a brave face, especially at funerals of dead Tigers. It has been customary of the LTTE to let Colonel Soosai make his presence felt in these functions, especially if it involves a fairly senior folk in the organization.

Like all the senior Tigers, Colonel Soosai is not prepared to give up in the face of setbacks and hang up his boots. So, he may turn what is left of his boats to create a new fleet - a freshwater fleet – the first of its kind, making use of countless number of tanks in Vanni. – Kulams. What he is going to do with his new fleet is still a mystery. Fresh water fishing is, however, ruled out.

Colonel Soosai is a soldier – a sailor, to be more precise. He is in the battlefield and anything can happen to an individual in that situation. It is anyone’s guess as to the rank that would be bestowed upon him, in the event of the worse coming to the worst and his big Boss outliving him.

Both Tamilselvam and Balraj were given the title of Brigadier by the commander-in-chief, when they made the transition to the ‘Other Side’.

Will it be a Brigadier – the rank next to present title, Colonel – or an Admiral – due to his sea faring skills?

My guess is it would be an Admiral; then he will be a very Rare Admiral indeed, for tens of reasons.

"Upon retirement from the Army after a service of 20 years, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Technology from the Colombo University and was employed in the IT field of the local corporate sector. Then Gotabhaya migrated to the United States of America, where he worked as Seven Eleven Manager [1] and as Computer Systems UNIX Administrator at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "

900m2 isnt small in the current context. 1000m2 is 1km2... we are inching towards a major ltte stronghold its not as easy as going from viduthalaithi to Illuppaikadavai. i guess we might have to fight for every inch. we will take more casualties as well... but what we should remember even a 1:1 kill ratio which might be the case will only delay the inevitable.

i feared a reduction in offensive operations during SAARC. expected more consolidation type work. but didn't happen and that is good.

many direct and coward LTTE supporters predicted a total collapse in operations due to indian pressure. they were in for BIG disappointment.

but the mallavi incident was not favourable to us. at least 3 Mi024 attacks were carried out in the area. but had we used jets, things would have been more exciting. 4 days without another jet attack.

tamilnet now carries janaka perera's HATE campaign. seems both JCP and TN are desperate and try to show false sympathy for the soldiers. JCP is becoming increasingly desperate by the day. looks like SLDF operations are hurting him just like the LTTE.

[Shipping Sinhalese to Tamil areas is a wonderful idea from a Modaya perspective but it will only reinforce the LTTE's argument that the Sinhalese are out to destroy the Tamils. Fears of Sinhala displacement of the Tamils has been THE driving force of Eastern/Batticaloa Tamil nationalism (very very different from the Jaffna Tamil motivation).]

“Tamil racists are paranoid of this. They have ethnic cleansed these areas sometime back. And they want to keep it that way. How can you justify your argument without showing your true colors?”

Only Jaffna and Mannar which were over 95% Tamil to begin with were ethnically-cleansed, and it was the LTTE which did that. Eastern Province was NOT ethnically-cleansed, and that is where the JR govt. brought in Sinhalese who drove Tamils out of their homes in the 1980s.

Jaffna Tamil nationalism originated out of a sense of entitlement to prior privileges enjoyed under colonialism. The Eastern (and Vanni) Tamils on the other hand who lived in areas bordering Sinhala areas and who were not a privileged people had a fear of being overrun and driven into the sea.

“Sinhalese colonization was a necessity at a time the SL govt lacked the ability to bring any area under its control swiftly.”

This “necessity” drove the eastern Tamils into the LTTE’s paws, where they remained until the Karuna rebellion.

“If your comments have any validity, there should be severe bloodshed between tamils and muslims in the EP. Soon the muslims will outnumber the tamils in the EP as they have already done overall in Sri Lanka.”

There has been a lot of Muslim-Tamil bloodshed and it will probably continue, just as Sinhala-Muslim violence will probably increase as the Muslims replace the Tamils as the dominant minority.

As Wanni war reaches into decisive phase, either side depends on the strategic weapons. My money is that if LTTE can use arty indiscriminately, whatever the gains SLA got recently will be reversed.

80,000+ were given training in Wanni by the time TChelvan was killed, auxiliary forces also included here.

Everyone is anxiously waiting for what will happen in coming weeks and months, pro-govern believes that end is near for LTTE while half the Tamil community is really concern about the recent LTTE performances and just as usual pro-LTTers think the old guard,VP, will deliver yet another clutch performance in this crucial period.

As a Tamil,I'm very skeptical about LTTE, it's because I consume too much govern propaganda not sure yet, one thing we all sure that LTTE races against time.

“2."in 2000-1, the SLA was more or less a beaten army with extremely low morale, totally panicked leadership, and disrupted supply line"All these were NOT there a few hours before the Tigers launched their counteroffensive.”

IF you are talking about the Vanni counteroffensive in 1999 (not the invasion of Jaffna the following year), there are some observations to make.

a. The LTTE had eastern reinforcements which played the key role in the first phase of Unceasing Waves III (November). LTTE today does not have those reinforcements.

b. The SLA was so undermanned that police and SLN were manning the defense lines. That is where the LTTE attacked.

c. SLA had taken large casualties in Jaya Sikurui, large enough that recruitment was very low throughout most of Eelam War III. As DW is pointing out, though, recruitment is currently very high (probably because the Rajapakses are doing much much more to take care of the soldiers and their families than Chandrika and her cronies ever did). What remains to be seen is whether current recruitment is enough to offset casualties and to occupy the north.

“3.Now what makes me they can take Jaffna?a)Condition: only if Wanni falls so that SLA is in disarray and dispirited.”

SLA was in disarray and dispirited in 2000.

“b)They had EP complex to contend with in 2000 wasting their time and resources. They are well inside Jaffna now. If they can outflank and outlast EP then, they can repeat now.”

There are 2 entrances into Jaffna- Pooneryn and Muhamalai-Nagarkovil, the latter which serves as the current day EPS in terms of fortification. It is conceivable that the LTTE might attempt an amphibious landing to outflank the Muhamalai-Nagarkovil lines. The LTTE was successful at EPS because it landed a force behind EPS which blocked reinforcements from Jaffna. It will not be able to do the same because against Muhamalai-Nagarkovil because the SLA has shorter interior lines which cannot be interdicted easily. The LTTE tried this in late 2000 with Unceasing Waves IV and failed.

They had plenty of fire support last time around too. But last time, the SLN did not sink any cargo ships carrying munitions.

"d)Most important, they have more no. of cadres( common sense--as they would have recruited during 4 years of CFA + many youths come of fighting age during those peaceful years, even after Karuna factored-in)."

our doubts should be cleared by year-end I guess. Lets wait and watch.

* I have never seen a ' granny' of either sex in genuine war casualty photos of either party( or even non-casualty ones).It seems like cheap propaganda--which by default demeans the SLA as having trouble defeating conscripted grannies.

"no. it won't be war as there won't be two warring parties. you can't declare war on something like the EPRLF in 1989. it will be PEOPLE (very heavily backed by RICH seperatist elements who can EASILY out-do SL's financial strength) in the north that will DEMAND this from their regioinal rulers."-----------------------------------Of course you don't declare war upfront. We just bring in troops and station them there, like Indian troops in Kashmir and Pakistani troops in Baluchistan. If they start attacking the troops, then its on. -----------------------------------"russia and china (2 UN permanant members) disagreed to kosovo. even france had reservations. but it went ahead."-----------------------------------The geopolitical balance at the time were massively in favor of the West. At that time the West had so much leverage over the rest of the world. Remember this was not long after the cold war ended.

Today we are living in a historic time where the center of gravity of the world is shifting(quickly) to the East after 500 years. This is because of Asia's economic rise. Already many the West are talking about China and India.

Just look at Sri Lanka and our war. 10 years ago we were highly dependant on the aid(economy and military) from the West and it was hard for us got get advanced weapons systems from the West. We always got an earful from them when it came to human rights.

Today we get most our our aid(economy and military) from China and other non Western countries. The EU has much less leverage on us than it did 10 years ago and this trend is going to increase as Asia continues its economic rise.-----------------------------------"if we try to stop seperation after creating a somewhat autonomous region (which is against "a community's right to self-determination as recognised by the UN", a R2P situation arises.

we cannot fight them"-----------------------------------We don't have to fight them, just station troops there if the currents of seperation arises in those communities. If they attack the troops we can crush their fledgling insurgency while protecting the civilians.

An animal which senses its defeat (just about to be killed) rolls on its back and uses all its strength + all four limbs + teeth on its final suicide attack.

So, yes in the coming months we will see a stiff resistance from the LTTE. But this cannot be held for a long period of time. The carders will lose morale (also if their supply is drained from combined navy + army defense in the west coast; north of Mannar) in time. If this stage can be handled accurately we will see waves of civilians, carders handing over to the army.

PS: As for all others who are dreaming about "tactical-retreats"... have a nice dream, there are some more goodies on the way.

Theepan's insertion into the Mannar-Vavuniya battle front is interesting. Since Theepan lead the artillery regiment of the LTTE, more of LTTE arti-strikes can be expected in this sector.

Using the arti-strikes to beat back the SLDFs, LTTE will ideally want to have a static FDL (like that of Muhamallai), where LTTE's proven tactics can be put to use.

Meanwhile, the army should aim to be as mobile as possible. However, there is a significant change in terrain beyond Vellankulam (at least along the A32). This open terrain will be ideal for tank warfare. So there could be a slight change of tactics beyond Vellankulam (depending on the yet undisclosed proximate objectives of the SLDFs).

But mobility is highly correlated to capacity of supplies that can be carried. So to maximize the mobility of the troops, SLDFs are contemplating setting up a temporary base along the A32 (Vindathalathivu - SBS or Vellankulam). This will facilitate , especially tank warfare that will become increasingly important.

Gota and SF together changed a rag-tag army into a determined fighting force.

Gota may have worked at a petrol station in the US. But many of the folks who go through the greencard lottery work in Walmarts, petrol stations ect. until they rebuild their life, and this is nothing to be ashamed of.

Besides, as someone already mentioned, Gota was a major in teh Army before he left. It is pertinent to ask why a major in the SLA would want to go to the US and operate a gas pump. I believe it is because, the SLA was very poorly managed and the officers and the soldiers were demoralized.

Gota is determined and will drive hard until he achieves them. Though initially I was skeptical, I am now pretty much sure that this is the man (together with SF) to defeat the LTTE.

Furthermore, the formation/revamping of the R&D dept of the Army, where more than 25 PhDs contribute, was done by Gota. Shows he plans ahead and have a vision.

/*Photos in TN show the jeep from 3 angles without a scratch in its paint, the drivers side just fine and windshield intact.*/

As far as I can see, there was no explosion involved. The jeep has been sprayed with automatic gunfire from the right hand side. The 3 army soldiers, most probably engineering, parked the vehicle and was preparing the ground to erect a bunker. The digging equipment can be clearly seen next to the bodies. In other words, they were killed by these LTTE cowards when they were unarmed.

agree with some points. nice discussing with you. but cannot agree on using troops overtly and/or coverty to achieve a political end.

tamil nationalism is a political affair. militarycan do very little about that. OTOH if the military tries to stop it or curtail it, a R2P or KOSOVO or EAST TIMOR type situation arises as ALL the other ingredients would be there.

even the army commander accpets that tamil nationalism will stay. we need a political solution NOT to keep tamil nationalism happy. we need a political solution to FRUSTRATE tamil nationalism.

PLUS regional autonomy or regional devolution TOTALLY disregards the MAJORITY of tamils who are living outside the north and the east. this has TWO bad effects. one things is we are seperating tamils who want to living with the others from tamils who are naturally isolated. this is a VERY dangerous development.

the other bad thing is it allows a tamil-only area. vezapillai worked VERY hard for it and almost got it. we can now BUST it bcos the LTTE is a terrorist group, etc. but when they are beaten we CANNOT do so. using the military and the PTA, etc. to stop political movements is NOT SEEN EVEN today!!!! only JRJ used them. now even the TNA can do whatever they want and there is nothing to stop them. in times of no open war, there is NO justification to use force against political movements and this includes threatening presence.

instead what should happen is to frstrate tamil nationalism and make tamil elam IMPOSSIBLE by peaceful means.

this can be done by ethnic integration. only racists tell that this area is sinhalese, that area is tamil.making racial demands and giving into racial demands are the same thing. this mentality and status quo GOT TO BE DESTROYED.

thereafter people (OF ALL RACES) living in the north and the east will NEVER want to seperate from SL.

it will be like muslims in india today. they don't fight for self-determination. of course a few of them of the total tries in kashmir, etc. but india has the second largest muslim population in the world and they have no option but to coexist with the rest and i'm sure they are happy to have made the right choice by being in india than pakistan. indian muslims are economically and security wise MUCH MUCH better off than their pakistani cousins. this is an example of the type of the solution we need.

this type of solutions can come ONLY when politicians can think BEYOND race and racial demands and look from the pov of the nation.

Let me add a little to what you said. We now allways say "first we defeat terrorism, annihilate LTTE after that .... political soutions, negotiations, devulotion of power...and all the sinhala, muslim, tamil people live in one country in peace and harmony.

So SLA will do the first part within next few months. After that we have to deliver the remaining part. After SLA take the control of whole island, if TNA, LTTE or other tamil political members (they may be racist: but its their choice) protest against GSL then we can't say they are terrorst and kill them. We need to deel with them (tamil nationalism/ racism) politicaly (not militarily). That's where GSL need so called olitical solution. After military defeat LTTE for sure carry on their seperatist struggle in other fronts. A sound political solution will be the crucial whepon for GSL at that time, in that front.

Due to practical (unfortunate) reasons GSL may not be able to show such a solution now, but they need to have one. GSL will not have time to come up with it after the end of war, its now the time for ministers/ officials/ politicos to work on that.

Specialy after LTTE will be defeated (i.e. SLA taking control all the areas) LTTE will operate hiding among civilians and this is the insurgency GenSF talked about. Again, in such a casae it is impossibl SLA to alone finish such an insugerrgeny. GSL need to activate political process.

Isn't it high time that we offer a general amnesty for Tiger Cadres? We can offer an amnesty to encourage desertions / surrenders with the promise of rehabiliation and gaurantee that they won't be hunted down or prosecuted / persecuted. This should a sincere amnesty. Seeing that the LTTE won't surrender as an organisation, the amnesty should target individual cadres. I am surprised that this hasn't happened already. The expectation is that poor Tamil village boys / girls (who are fighting againts their will and are essentially lamb being sent to the slaughterhouse) will surrender leaving the hard core brainshed die hard non surrendering pigs to be hunted down to extinction. Any thoughts?

"Daily Mirror: Sri Lanka Army this morning, at the Omanthai Entry / Exit point arrested the driver of a Canter truck carrying contraband KY Jelly to the uncleared areas. The goods lorry has been impounded at the local police station while the investigations are carried out by the TID. It was believed that this truck was destined for Vellupillai Prabhakaran's bunker. Rumours are rife that the LTTE is running low its supply of KY Jelly used to initiate young boys to the outfit".

panhinda, "STD have been going on about photos in TN for a few days. " I mentioned just once, dont imagine too much;) your explanation seem least convincing--the right side does not even have a scratch.No bullet or any sort of impact mark is seen at back, left front door, part of bonnet,roof cover, etc. Those who dig trenches in warzones without guards are begging to be killed.

" Gota and SF together changed a rag-tag army into a determined fighting force. Gota may have worked at a petrol station in the US. But many of the folks who go through the greencard lottery work in Walmarts, petrol stations ect. until they rebuild their life, and this is nothing to be ashamed of. Furthermore, the formation/revamping of the R&D dept of the Army, where more than 25 PhDs contribute, was done by Gota. Shows he plans ahead and have a vision. "

Sarath Fonseka too has spent a significant ammount of time in America and, like Gota has a U.S. Green Card.

It's very interesting, is it not, that after 30 years of bumbling by the SL military, the 2 men that have done what everyone before them couldn't do over the 30 years, and transformed the SLDF into a competent fighting force (and in only 3 years!!) are, in a sense, the ones who have had American 'training' and experience?

LTTE's days are numbered, supporters dont wanna accept the fact that LTTE is gonna be wiped out from Sri Lanka soon, till then "Sinhala Army" will not stop military operations, now the LTTE is fighting to save their Pathetic ass, just to temporally hold back advancing troops ;

thanks for the links, mate. had visited cerno for sat images, didn't check these out.

HOW TIMELY????? OR IS IT A STRANGE QUIRK?

SLN is doing its part in securing the western coast although most tigers had escaped from their targets. as SLA progresses northwards, SLN/SLA/SLAF will have to take on little islands that are under LTTE.

99% agree with you. but i prefer the political process to start AFTER finishing off the LTTE. then only there will be a condusive environment to function without any fear or favour.

GOSL should never fall into the race trap. THERE ARE NO TAMIL HOMELANDS. THERE ARE NO SINHALA HOMELANDS. THERE ARE NO MUSLIM HOMELANDS. NOTHING; I MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING should be allowed on racial "homelands" or boundaries.

whatever self-styled "philosophers" say, WAR STILL IS AN EXTENTION OF POLITICS. LTTE fought for a tamil nation and it (almost) failed. that is the end of it. like someone said, the tamil nation/tamil homeland MUST be burried with the LTTE.

if our grand political solution is going to wake it up like a zombie, then we are back in square ONE.

the political solution should ADVANCE (TAKE FORWARD) the military solution (peacefully of course), not reverse it. bcos after the war is over, there is little GOSL can do militarily.

panhinda quite correctly termed it in his short analysis.

some scatter brains (eg. TNA, ranil ponnaya and their kind) cannot think straight mainly due to the presence of terror which offeres both OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS. they want to please pro-LTTE ppl with something just less than TE. they have fallen to the race trap ALREADY and i doubt they can come out of it.

some others innocently think that we should strike a compromise between TE and SL. FORTUNATELY as SLDFs win more and more MOST ppl are moving away from this theory.

both these are wrong as both of them are RACIAL. what we need is NATIONAL where race is a NON-CONSIDERATION.

/*your explanation seem least convincing--the right side does not even have a scratch.No bullet or any sort of impact mark is seen at back, left front door, part of bonnet,roof cover, etc.*/

You have a point there. Doesn't the picture seem a tad odd to you? Also notice, there are no glass fragments on the floor or anywhere else. No signs of explosions or bullet holes. Only conclusion then, this is whole thing has been staged by LTTE as they have done in numerous times in the past.

there is nothing odd there. TN said Tigers seized a " troop carrier" which was trying to ferry wounded troops. They did not say how.In view of DWs claim of an RPG hit I brought out the unlikely scenario.I dont presume to know how they captured it. Maybe it was just abandoned in the confusion? Maybe the engine conked out? maybe they shot the tires out and occupants escaped. maybe maybe... buts that was not my point.

the toughest battle is being fought right now. It will get harder for sure in the comming weeks. Lots of tamil young youth who are terrorists will die as well as our brave troops to liberate our country from terrorism.

Typically when a new player is introduced by the opposing team, the team management quickly digs out old video footage and other historical data related to his performance. This is how cricket is played these days.

Theepan the Jaffna Commander responsible for army debacles in Muhmalai has been posted to Mannar. A level of sophistication as modern day cricket is urgently called for. What are his strengths and his weaknesses? One thing is for certain he is a formidable defender and strategist. Deception and surprise are key tools in his arsenal. Have a good look at is recent work in Jaffna. LTTE defensive patterns in and around Mannar will soon change. The military must adapt to the new reality and realign its tactical responses.

Hello DW,The gun that's circled in the image has been seen ONLY with Air Force special team in Colombo and it's even since very recently. How come LTTE carry the same thing now, this is the first time I saw this gun with any one except Air Force special team in Colombo, not even with SF/STF. Can you please tell what this gun and is there any specialty in it.

Link for the image: http://www.screenshots.cc/images/134_02_08_08_sladeadbodies_01_gun.jpg

The RPG like weapon is an RPG-7 derivative, they do come with bipods, the heat guard is just painted black or is a black polymer. that’s all, this example has no optics, just iron sights. Also there are a Type-56 LMG (Chinese copy of the famous RPD) and a Pakistani(copy of a Chinese mortar)/Iranian 60mm mortar. And a few famous "$5 greandes" (Type-82/2)

There may be a few ltte "elite" unit members there, at least from the CASR. Note on the last pic and on the one with the ltte flag over a Land curser "APC" (wow Toyota might be thrilled) guy carrying a Type-97 bullpup 5.56 assault rifle, he is in civvies.

"Analysts say the military has an advantage in the latest phase of the war given its superior air power, strength of numbers and swathes of terrain captured in the island's east. But they still see no clear winner on the horizon."

I got to know that Theepan who was defending the northen FDL of the LTTE has been removed and has been brught down to defend the SLA offensive from the south. If Theepan has been removed who is the commander of the FDL of the LTTE in Muahmalai and Nagarkovil???

I got to know another thing as well. SLA spies have found out that the LTTE has a plan of attacking Muhamalai and Nagarkovil in a large scale using air and ground troops and after that attacking Jaffna .Hence the SLA has been strengthening the FDL of Muhamalai and Nagarkovil. The increase of SLA artillery attacks are due to this reason. The use of snipers has been effective because they observe the FDL of the LTTE and give us valuable info while taking down atleast 3-4 LTTE cadres as well.More troops have been brought in to reinforce the FDL as well. But with Thileepan gone south i doubt whether LTTE will try to attack the jaffna peninsula.

MANNAR: Heavy confrontations occurred in VELLANKULAM area throughout yesterday (03). Twenty-six terrorists were killed during the incidents and Twenty-seven more were wounded. Troops have also managed to successfully avert two attempted attacks by the LTTE.

Troops attacked a terrorist camp located North of VELLANKULAM around 11.35 a.m. yesterday (03). According to troops the LTTE terrorists put up heavy resistance and the clashes left five terrorists dead and another six wounded. Two soldiers have laid their life in this incident. This is another heavy blow to the LTTE terrorists.

Troops state that a group of LTTE terrorists attempted to attack the Army North of VELLANKULAM area around 4.30 p.m. yesterday (03) however it was successfully averted by the troops. Three LTTE cadres were killed during this incident. Six soldiers were also wounded in action.

Meanwhile Troops successfully averted another LTTE attack in North VELLANKULAM around 6.05 p.m. yesterday (03) evening. According to troops a group of LTTE terrorists had attempted an attack on the Army. Nine terrorists were killed during the resulted battle while fourteen more were wounded. One soldier laid his life during this incident and four others were wounded in action.

Nine LTTE terrorists were killed and seven were wounded during heavy clashes in VELLANKULAM area around 7.45 a.m. on the same day. Two soldiers laid heir life in this confrontation.

In VELLANKULAM North around 5.00 p.m. on the same day one soldier was wounded due to an anti personnel mine explosion".

Sorry about the late reply, can't find time to blog with all the other matters.

To make a correction, Gotabhaya was a major when he was involved in the Vadamarachchi operation, but he retired as a lieutenant colonel.

As I said, he may have worked as a gas station attendent, but he worked in a Seven Eleven for sure (given the large number of stores, 7-11 is another spot to work for people who go to US through the green card program).

His interest in setting up a proper R&D section for the army probably came when he was the commandant of KDA (getting involved with academics).

Yes, the exposure he got in the US, and during the time he prepared for life in the US, learning new skills (eg. IT) before going to the US would have facilitated him to better manage the SLDFs.

SF on the other hand is now invited to address the top defense academies in the US, an achievement that a very few of our military guys have achieved.

Remember when Vidattaltivu under attack, our guys sneaked in from all around before breaking in, I suspect a similar strategy in place for Mallavi too. Both the special forces and special infantry have shown great maneuverability in this type of operations.

That is what they were trying in Mallavi before they got ambushed. Advanced parties were sent and they retreated to the original lines due to still resistance. The quality of cadres in Tunnukai and Mallavi are higher (Wanni Tigers). They are the brainwashed die hard kind. These two towns will be tougher nuts to crack. If Mallavi falls, Kili will be in our arti range.

"SLA spies have found out that the LTTE has a plan of attacking Muhamalai and Nagarkovil in a large scale using air and ground troops and after that attacking Jaffna "

Lets see LTTE has tried and failed this when they even had a way to stop Trinco, it would be crazy for them to waste men and resources trying this again. Which is why I think this may be a ploy, planting false info, to get the military to lock down troops on the national front. They are doing in reverse what the military is doing to them - keeping lots of resources trapped along that front.

/*The quality of cadres in Tunnukai and Mallavi are higher (Wanni Tigers). They are the brainwashed die hard kind. These two towns will be tougher nuts to crack.*/

Precisely why we need to circumvent these towns - Malawi especially and disrupt supplies leading into these towns with small infantry teams already operating behind enemy lines. Tunnukkai should be taken first. Then gradually bleed Mallawi the forth biggest town in Vanni with artillery, motar and MBBRL. Since the civilians have already left, this should not be a problem. Urban warfare results in too many casualties and takes longer to clear.

Panhinda, agree with you, but we should also try to harvest the maximum before we stretch ourselves too thin in capturing land. I believe the army is exactly doing that in Mallavi / Tunnukai, harvesting!

My advise is not to bask in the glory as to display such cavelier attitude to bring disaster to our troops.

there is much more fighting to be done, the LTTE has been waiting, constructing bunkers and manning supplies.

They only need to delay and frustrate our timetables...

remember to hold EAST as it was the grounds to re-load the meat grinder of LTTE.

We always need to maintain a level of caution in military operations with limited resources. Although SLA is in a leading position we should not forget our past mistakes:

Source Tamilnet: Jayasikuru Analysis

Victory less assured[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 November 1997, 23:59 GMT]The Sri Lankan military's largest military operation is 6 months old today. The much vaunted Operation 'Jaya Sikirui' ('Victory Assured' in Sinhalese) was launched on 13 May 1997, with the stated aim of opening a supply route to the SLA's Jaffna garrison, isolated by a broad swath of LTTE held territory. However things are not going as planned.

The Sri Lankan offensive to open a main supply route (MSR) to the Jaffna peninsula was widely anticipated since October last year, when the Sri Lankan army finally wrestled the town of Kilinochchi from the LTTE after fighting pitched battles for two months, losing more than six hundred soldiers and heavy armour.

Ratwatte & RohanSri Lanka's Deputy Minister Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte (right) and Lieut. General Rohan Daluwatte in Jayasikurui operationAn estimated forty thousand Sri Lankan security forces can be supplied only by air and sea now. The Monsoon weather, the LTTE's Surface to Air Missiles and the ferocious attacks of the Sea Tigers continue mount severe pressure on the lines of supply to the north the Sri Lankan government is trying to keep open.

Though the publicly stated objective of Operation Jayasikurui was to secure a supply route to the Jaffna peninsula, the Sri Lankan government had other objectives also. These were

drawing the LTTE into open confrontation and breaking its back through superior firepower, thereby securing political kudos amongst the Sinhala people and hence setting the political temperature right to unveil the government's devolution proposals. Strategic analysts also believe that a secondary objective of the operation was to depopulate the Tamil areas between Vavuniya and the eastern coastline, thereby preparing the way for the expansion of Weli Oya (Manal Aru) further into the northern province. Weli Oya is a military zone where thousands of Sinhalese were settled by the Sri Lankan state after forcibly evacuating the Tamils living there in 1984. The SLA therefore ignored the easier route to Jaffna along the Vanni's western coast and began preparations for a major operation along the A9 trunk road which runs through the centre of the Vanni.

But LTTE had sufficient time to construct its defences, prepare its military machine and plan for contingencies. The LTTE was also able to devote considerable resources to securing more of the strategic east of the island: from October to April, LTTE units decimated Sri Lankan patrols, overran military outposts in the region.

Things were made much easier for the LTTE as the Sri Lankan army has had to pull out a large number of troops from the eastern province, abandoning in the process several key camps. Military observers agree that the LTTE was firmly in control of 80% of the eastern areas of the island by April 1997.

Furthermore, the Sri Lankan government had inadvertently set a deadline to successfully conclude the war : In early 1997, the government promised the Sinhala public that it would 'end the war' by December 1997. Similarly, in a move to maintain international support for its military onslaughts in the island's northeast, the SL government also promised to deliver the 'political package' by November 1997.

The SLA said it expected to capture the 45 miles of the A9 from Vavuniya to Kilinochchi, within 4 months, before the monsoon set in and turned the mechanised assault into muddy chaos.

The SLA launched Operation 'Jaya Sikirui' (Victory Assured) on 13 May 1997 (the date was chosen as it was said to be auspicious, according to the Sinhala Buddhist calendar). Over 20,000 troops, backed by tanks, artillery and air power pushed into the Vanni region.

LTTE unitsLTTE UnitsThe LTTE fought back bitterly. For the first time, the Tigers deployed artillery (captured from the SLA)) and mortars on columns of the Sri Lankan army that were trying to advance on the A9. And Jaya Sikirui stumbled almost immediately. Heavy casualties caused Sri Lankan blood reserves to drop by half within days, prompting urgent appeals for donors.

Stiff Tiger resistance from bunkers and trenches slowed the Sri Lankan advance to a crawl. When the SLA captured the two initial objectives of Omanthai and Nedunkerni towns, the operation was already behind schedule.

As the two columns from Omanthai and Nedunkerni moved towards the obscure village of Puliyankulam in a pincer movement, the LTTE launched its first major counter-attack. LTTE commandos penetrated deep behind SLA lines to smash a major staging area, destroying vast quantities of supplies and killing hundreds of SLA troops. Two other similar (though smaller) LTTE counterattacks inflicted further casualties on Jaya Sikirui later on.

Puliyankulam was meant to be the linking up point for the twin prongs of the SLA assault. The SLA was so sure of its progress that it even went so far as to declare it secured before the troops even reached it.

But LTTE had built very effective defences at Puliyankulam. Straddling the A9 route, the small town was the gateway to further progress along the highway. A few hundred LTTE troops, backed by artillery, beat off repeated SLA assaults for three months, destroying several SLA tanks and inflicting heavy casualties.

map_ottisuddan_1.gifStung by the humiliation, the SLA ignored conventional military strategy of bypassing the village and instead launched ever larger assaults upon it. Many were repulsed. After several weeks, the SLA inched forward to reach Puliyankulam railway station (in the west of the village). The rest of the town is still yet to be secured.

Like the garrison of the Alamo in another war, the Tigers defending Puliyankulam had achieved a significant objective: they had irrevocably delayed their enemy's advance. Jaya Sikirui could no longer be completed on time.

Several belated attempts to bypass Puliyankulam (west of the town) were slowed by LTTE ambushes and counterattacks. Attempts to take Kanakarayakulam, further up the A9 were also repulsed.

After a lull, the SLA decided to secure an alternative route through a little known jungle route that ran parallel to the A9, but further east. Pushing north from its positions along the Puliyankulum-Nedunkerni raid, the SLA reached the Mankulum-Oddusudan road (running east-west).

The Tigers launched a major counterattack on the SLA columns strung out in the jungles east of the A9. In 5 days of heavy fighting, over 500 SLA troops were killed and a massive quantity of arms and ammunition captured (including a million rounds of ammunition). 162 Tigers died in this assault.

The accurate picture of the current situation is difficult to ascertain. Both sides are maintaining a studied silence as to the situation in the Vanni. The Sri Lankan government had banned reporters from the war zones (for several years). What is certain is that the A9 between Puliyankulam and Kilinochchi remains in Tiger hands.

The SLA has said that its troops are occupying 'a line' on the Mankulum-Ottusudan road, and that it is preparing to launch the 'final phase' of the operation. The LTTE says that the isolated SLA camps are under pressure. Meanwhile, LTTE units are slipping into areas recently captured by the SLA and staging guerrilla attacks in the rear.

The heavy monsoon rains lashing the Vanni region have further compounded Jaya Sikirui's problems. The SLA has revised its timetable. It now says it will secure the MSR by February 1998.

It has also raised another division (9,000 men) and thrown it into the Vanni and is stripping the east of the island and even the Jaffna peninsula to beef up the Jaya Sikurui troops. There has been a sudden, corresponding surge in LTTE activity on the peninsula.

Throughout the Jaya Sikirui operation, the LTTE has avoided getting drawn into direct confrontations where the Sri Lankan military can easily deploy superior firepower; except in a handful of decisive counter-attacks where the Tigers have surprised the SLA and prevented it from using its heavy weapons successfully.

By contrast, the LTTE has been able to use been able to effectively deploy 122mm artillery (the LTTE is said to have captured 5 of these) and scores of 120mm and 81mm mortars to slow Jaya Sikirui's advance.

Though the LTTE has lost about 750 troops in the past six months, it has replenished these losses with fresh recruits (although it will be six months before they are sufficiently trained to be deployed in battle). The Tigers have also captured a staggering quantity of arms, ammunition and vehicles from the SLA.

Though the Tigers have lost some ground in the Vanni, they are consolidating their grip on the east. Furthermore, analysts say that even if the SLA opened a supply route to Jaffna, the route will be a very expensive to maintain.

The Sinhala populace has been less than impressed with the government's achievements on the battlefield, despite a concerted PR campaign, complete with suitablly inflated Tiger casualty figures. The Sinhala press has become increasingly critical, and even strongly nationalistic papers have ridiculed the government's battlefield claims.

Military columnists and analysts have been united in their criticism of Jaya Sikiru's approach, results and even objectives.

Desertions continue to plague the SLA and the general sense of malaise has extinguished any interest amongst the Sinhala youth for a military career.

The future of the government's peace package, which has been presented to parliament, hangs in the balance The government is threatening to go to a referendum over the proposals and is hastily trying to mobilise public opinion in its favour, a task hampered by the rising price of essentials (due to taxation to fund the increasingly unpopular war).

In effect, none of Jaya Sikirui's have been achieved six months after it was launched (and two months after it was expected to conclude). The Sri Lankan government however, has staked everything on the success of this operation. It is therefore expected to doggedly back Jaya Sikirui, even though with each passing day, victory seems less assured.